Guaiabero
Bolbopsittacus lunulatus
A common, lovebird-sized parrot of wooded areas in the lowlands and foothills. Overall green in color with a darker back, darker wings with blue edges and black tips, and paler green underparts and rump. Male has a blue face and collar. Female has reduced blue on the face with a scaled collar and rump. Similar in length to Philippine Hanging-Parrot, but Guaiabero is shorter-tailed and stockier, with a black rather than red bill. Voice consists of high-pitched ringing notes, often given in pairs.
Identification
Measuring around 15 cm (5.9 in) in length, it is a smallish, stout parrot with a large bill and stubby tail. The sexes differ in plumage. The adult male is green overall, with more yellowish underparts and a pale blue face and collar and wing primaries. The rump is yellow-green. The bill is grey-blue and with a darker tip, and the eyes dark brown. The adult female is also greenish, with a yellow collar and less blue on the face. It has black crescent markings on the nape and rump. Its bill is paler grey.
Taxonomy
The guaiabero was first described as Psittacus lunulatus by Tyrolean naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1786. The only member of its genus, it is distinctive. Four subspecies have been recognised. The nominate race lunulatus occurs on Luzon, birds on Leyte are darker with a more distinctive blue collar and some purple-tinge on the face and classified as subspecies intermedius, those on Mindanao and Panaon have greener cheeks and are classified as subspecies mindanensis, and finally those on Samar are similar to the Leyte subspecies, but with a more yellow tone overall and classified as callainipictus.
- Scientific name
- Bolbopsittacus lunulatus
- Authority
- (Scopoli, 1786)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Bolbopsittacus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds

White-bellied Thicket-Fantail
Rhipidura leucothorax
A medium-sized, long-tailed bird of lowland and foothill wooded thickets. Blackish plumage with short white eye-brow, white patch on the side of the throat and prominent white tail tips. Also white-spotted chest and wing bars. Secretive and difficult to see. Keeps to cover with tail often cocked and fanned. Similar to Black Thicket-Fantail, but White-bellied unsurprisingly has a white belly. Also similar to Sooty Thick-Fantail but has the white tail tips. Voice, a falling note followed by a high-pitch ringing note “joo-wii!”

Band-tailed Manakin
Pipra fasciicauda
Small manakin of lowland rainforest. Males are bright yellow with black wings and back, red cap, and a variable red wash on breast; males also have a white tail band, which is most visible in flight. Females are dull yellow-olive with a slightly brighter yellow belly. Compared to other female manakins, females of this species have a white eye and are more yellow, with a yellower belly. Found in the understory of mature rainforest, as well as in bamboo. Listen for the male’s song, a descending “teew” whistle.

Somali Crow
Corvus edithae
An entirely black crow with a fairly thick, raven-like bill. Found in a variety of dry country habitats, including savanna, thornscrub, desert, towns, and cultivated areas. Often in small flocks. Similar to Fan-tailed Raven, but has a different shape, especially in flight, with a much longer tail. Very similar to Brown-necked Raven, but smaller, and there is little overlap in range. Typical birds look very different from Pied Crow, but these two species sometimes hybridize, producing birds with white blotching on the back and underparts. The calls are typical rough cawing notes.
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